1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for sequentially dispensing sheet material from a primary roll and a reserve roll.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art sets forth a number of arrangements for dispensing paper towels and the like and includes a variety of mechanisms aimed at sequentially dispensing from a primary roll and one or more reserve rolls. Representative of prior art patents in this area are: U.S. Pat. No. 2,974,839, Batlas, et al., issued Mar. 14, 1961; U.S. Pat. No. 2,930,664, Liebisch, issued Mar. 29, 1960; U.S. Pat. No. 3,288,387, Craven, issued Nov. 29, 1966; U.S. Pat. No. 3,628,743, Bastian, issued Dec. 21, 1971; U.S. Pat. No. 3,917,191, Graham, Jr. et al., issued Nov. 4, 1975; U.S. Pat. No. 4,010,909, Bastian, issued Mar. 8, 1977; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,684, Hartbauer et al., issued Aug. 15, 1978.
It is an objective of all of the above-identified arrangements to transfer to a dispenser mechanism the sheet material of a reserve roll upon depletion or near depletion of a primary roll. This is also an objective of the present invention wherein the apparatus hereof is characterized by its simplicity, low cost and compactness, highly desirable features in mechanisms of this type. In addition, the apparatus is reliable in operation and effects transfer when only a miniscule amount of primary roll sheet material remains. This is important to prevent double dispensing resulting in sheet material waste. The present arrangement, due to its simplicity and compactness, may be readily retrofit to existing cabinets.